When laying tiles it is typical to start by laying a region of complete tiles within the boundaries of the area to be tiled, leaving a border around the periphery of the region within which incomplete tiles are laid.
In the case of tiling a floor incomplete tiles are laid around the edges of the floor close to the wall. Tiles are typically laid with lines of grout (grout joints) both between adjacent tiles and between the wall and tiles adjacent to the wall. Consequently incomplete, peripheral tiles are commonly cut to a smaller size than the gap into which they are fitted, by an amount equal to the thickness of two lines of grout. Similarly, when laminate flooring sections are laid on a floor, the edge sections are typically cut to such a size that when fitted an “expansion gap” is left between the laid flooring and the walls.
Determining the necessary size to which the peripheral tiles require to be cut is commonly performed by means of a method referred to as the “back marking” method. In the traditional back marking method a cutting tile to be cut is overlaid on a laid tile that is adhered to the floor, the side of a ruling tile is abutted against the wall, and a line is ruled on the cutting tile, along the opposite side of the ruling tile. A second line is then ruled on the cutting that is parallel with the first line, and separated by an amount equal to the thickness of two lines of grout, such that the second line demarcates a portion of the cutting tile that will fit into the gap between the laid tile and the wall together with two lines of grout. A traditional back marking method is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.
In FIG. 1 tiles are being laid across a floor 100 as far as a wall 102 or skirting board. The complete laid tile 104 has been laid into position on the floor 100, such that a gap G remains between that complete tile and the wall 102. A cutting tile 106A to be cut to fit within the gap G is laid on top of the complete laid tile 104, such that the edges of the cutting tile and the adhered tile are aligned. A ruling tile 108 is laid on top the cutting tile 106A, such that the first edge 110A abuts the wall 102. A first line 112 is then ruled on the exposed surface of the cutting tile 106A by drawing a pencil 114 along the second edge 110B of the ruling tile 108.
Tiles are typically laid on a bed of adhesive 116 with gaps between the adjacent tiles and walls, before the gaps are filled with grout 118. Consequently, the cutting tile 106A typically requires to be cut to a size that is slightly smaller than the gap G, such that the cut tile 106B can be laid into the gap G with room for a line of grout 118 between the cut tile 106B and each of the complete laid tile 104 and the wall 102, as is illustrated in FIG. 2.
FIG. 3 illustrates the cutting tile 106A, on which the first line 112 has been ruled. A second line 120 is then ruled on the cutting tile 106A. The second line 120 is the line along which the cutting tile 106A will be cut, and is offset T from the first line 112 by a separation equal to the thickness of the two lines of grout 118.
To achieve the most accurate positioning of the first line 112 on the cutting tile 106A, it is necessary that the first edge 110A of the marking tile 108 should be no closer to the floor than the second edge 110B, such that the second edge is in contact with the cutting tile 106A when the first line 112 is ruled.
The required gap between the tiles for grout needs to be measured in order to determine the offset between the first 112 and second lines 120. The positions of the ends 122A and 122B of second line 120 are then marked before the second line is ruled between them.
The traditional marking method, which typically requires the use of a tape measure or ruler, is time consuming, inconvenient and may be inaccurate and messy, which lead to wasted labour and materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,272 discloses an adjustable measuring device having a base, a slidably attached slide member and a pair of opposing locking elements for releasably securing the sides of the slide member against the base. The device permits a marking end of the device to be moved relative to the base to a position that corresponds to the size of a given tile plus the grout joint spacing on each side of a perimeter tile, which is actually twice the width of the grout line.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,272 bulky, mechanically complex to manufacture due to the number of component parts, and may be difficult use due to the number of movable parts. Further, due to its size, the device has only limited compatibility with different sizes of tile.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,112 discloses a tile fitting tool comprising a base and a measuring aid. The base holds a plurality of tiles, having a bottom portion for resting on a laid tile and an upturned lip for engaging an edge of a loose tile to be laid. A down-turned lip of the measuring aid may be adjustable or provided with projections or a spacing device, or a spacing device can be inserted, to account for additional spacing requirements, such a grout.
The tool of U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,112 is bulky and mechanically complex to manufacture. Further it is only suited to use with a tiles of a single width.
Thus a need remains in the industry for an alternative design of tool to facilitate the back marking of tiles, which seeks to mitigate at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art designs.